Light A Candle

There is the world that most people know. In this world, people going to work. Children play in parks. Dogs lie in the sun. Lovers hold hands on the beach.

But underneath that, simmering just beneath the surface, straining to break out, is another world.

People are good at pretending this world doesn’t exist. They’re good at pretending that their boss is just mean, and that there’s not something sinister and wrong about him. Children pretend that they stay on the grass in the park because it’s fun, and not because there are monsters in the woods. Dogs lie in the sun because it’s warm, and not because they’re afraid of the darkness. And those lovers avoid looking too far into the ocean, for fear of what they might see.

But in the still of night, when the darkness reigns, they huddle beneath their covers. Deep inside their secret hearts, they know what’s out there.

The decades-long Oblivion War between the supernatural and mundane worlds is at truce – not because they have given up, but for the simple reason that both sides are too beaten up to continue. For now.

Otherworldly creatures in the forest, that might be called elves by the ignorant, work mysteries for reasons that man cannot understand.

Old gods wander around, making their way in this world, bereft of most of their powers.

Some people are subtly changing into things that are not quite human.

Vampires.

Angels.

Demons.

Sorcerors.

But some recognize the darkness, and stare into it. And when the darkness crushes in from all sides, and threatens to overwhelm the entire world, they do the one thing they can.